Kathleen Fidler

[Boatbuilder]

Kathleen Fidler, now that's a name a remember from my childhood Rob, and it has prompted me to do a search to try and recall which books I read. I have come up with a series of books "The Deans...…." which I now recall. Interestingly enough I have recently been trying to remember a book I read as a child which was set in Liverpool and featured an adventure around the 'Williamson Tunnels' in the Edge Hill area of the city. It is quite possible that book was one in that series called "The Deans Defy Danger", and the more I now think about it the more I am becoming convinced in my mind that is the book. Of course I may be wrong, but can anybody else recall the book?

There doesn't appear to be any copies of it available to purchase, nor can I find a brief outline of the story.

edit: I have continued searching and have found a website which has the book tagged with 'Liverpool', so maybe I am right about this being the one.

You are quite right John... I just checked in my copy and it is mentioned in the chapter "Underground Operations" when Buffin gets trapped.

Thanks for confirming that Daisy, I can now stop racking my brain to try and remember which book/author it was.
It's a shame those books aren't in print any more, so I will just have to keep a look-out for a second-hand copy of that particular book, although at the moment I'm not that hopeful.

Back in August I wrote about this Kathleen Fiddler book - The Deans Defy Danger. A week ago it came up on an ebay auction with a reserve of £14.95. I have been watching it all week and there were no bids so I put mine in a few minutes from the end and 'got it'. Very pleased. It's a first edition (1955) with DJ and seems to be in good condition.



I also bought (not auction) another of her books - Look to the West - Tales of Liverpool (1957) first edition, also with DJ for £6.87 including postage.

[Daisy]

Oh well done John. I'm glad you got the Deans book. It's a good story.

[Boatbuilder]

Thanks Daisy. I'm looking forward to reading it again after all these years. It should be here by the weekend.

[Courtenay]

Well done, John. I'm not familiar with anything by Kathleen Fidler, but those books look great — I especially love the dust jacket of Look to the West!

[Boatbuilder]

I bought that one on impulse and am not familiar with it, Courtenay. Being from Liverpool I am sure I will find it interesting. The cover picture conjures up thoughts that there may be some content to do with the slave trade - although I'm probably way off course.

[Courtenay]

Could be, considering it looks like that tall ship is visiting Africa (although wouldn't that be a case of "Look to the South"?)... My ancestors on my dad's mother's mother's side were from Bristol and were reportedly a very well off family there, so I sometimes wonder if they had any connections with the slave trade, which was a big thing there too once. No known connections with Liverpool, though, apart from Dad being a fan of the Fab Four.

[Boatbuilder]

You must also remember that the Africans were transported to America, where the wealth in the UK came from, from the selling of the slaves.
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/ ... angle.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/ ... index.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Courtenay]

Ah, good point, of course. Bristol Museum also has a lot to say about the slave trade, unsurprisingly (I visited there a year or two ago). I'll be interested to hear what the book is about when you get it, John.

[Boatbuilder]

I will let you know if I was right or wrong about it, Courtenay.

[Rob Houghton]

Glad you found the book you were after, Boatbuilder!

By the way I have some more books I'll be listing shortly - though I think you may already have the ones I'll be listing!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Your Kathleen Fidler books look intriguing, John (Boatbuilder), with eye-catching dustwrappers.

Another museum which has a large section on the slave trade is the Docklands Museum in London. A fascinating place which I've visited a couple of times:

https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museu ... ar-slavery" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sixret]

Thank you for the link, Anita.

[Courtenay]

Hadn't heard about that, Anita, but it looks worth visiting. Not a nice part of history at all, but one that needs to be known about, for sure.

I had a look for Kathleen Fidler's Look to the West online and couldn't find out much more info, but it was listed on one site under her non-fiction books, so presumably it's true stories from Liverpool's history, which could of course include the slave trade. Again, I'll be interested to hear.

[Boatbuilder]

My Deans Defy Danger arrived today, although I had expected the other book to arrive first as I was advised it was sent on Monday and this one was advised on Tuesday.

[Daisy]

Glad to hear it's arrived safely, John. I hope the other turns up soon and you enjoy both.